Pre-Wedding shoot

I arrived early at the church, a day or so before, to check the location of the church and the venue and also to analyse the light levels so I would be 100% ready with settings and composition ideas. As I arrived the world was drenched in mist and the sky was a perfect white. However, this isn’t always discouraging. A white sky like this provides perfect gentle lighting for photography, just like a soft box. Ok, so the sky being so white in a photo would cause problems but excluding the sky, portrait shots would have nice effects. I took a few photos of the church but stopped after a while, the white sky made the image look flat and lifeless. I decided to try my luck inside the church.

I was a bit nervous, never having photographed the inside a church before, but my Canon camera gives me a huge possibility with ISO numbers and I decided to use a wide aperture to allow as much light in as possible. Added in with my tripod I had everything I needed.

Luckily the church was empty, especially as I had to see it all from the point of view of my young nephew which involved me crawling and kneeling next to the pews. I also lay completely flat as I know he likes to do this a lot. It provided excellent scope, being so low to the ground I was able to include the floor (to show his height level) the entire row of pews (a nice symmetry) and even better, the gigantic high ceiling that dominated the church. So I had my composition now it was all about settings, wide aperture, high ISO. I took several shots getting my Dad to walk down the aisle as I did so.

Next I took some photos in the pew, the bible held up by Dads finger who is crouched out of sight behind the pew. I was getting so much into the images I forgot about poor Dad until he said ‘Do you still need me to crouch like this.

It isn’t the easiest pose.’ Whoops!

I took several photos shot in front of the altar, pointing down at the church. And experimented with a zoom in and out effect. Positioning Dad in the centre with the focus on him I tried to create an image where he was sharp and the rest blurred. I didn’t quite get the effect I was looking for but I’m pleased with the others.

I also took a reading from a white balance card which has become my best friend, perfect for getting the lighting and WB right.

Well, as the wedding day approaches I’ve done everything I can. My arm held up today, touch wood, slightly sore, but I should be ok. I just hope everything goes right. And I’m pretty sure I’d be the only one happy with a misty softbox sky so I hope the bride and groom have a lovely sunny day. We shall see. That’s the fun of photography, the unexpected 😀